Tomato at Shoots, Potato in Roots : POMATO’s double benfit

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Gone are those days when agriculture was seen as a dull sector. Agriculture now can keep you stunned and surprised and can be a partner of yours in your journey of being a millionaire. Now there is a crop which can grow tomato at its shoots and potato at its roots, giving dual benefit from single hard work. Combining the two, this plant is known as Potato + Tomato i.e. Pomato.

This is not a wonder of Genetic Engineering but a simple method called, Grafting.The Pomato plant grow tomatoes and potatoes on one plant by grafting a tomato plant onto a potato plant. This method was originally developed in 1977 in Germany.

Tomatoes and potatoes are members of the same plant family. With Grafting, the potato plant and the tomato plant are merged together so that two plants can exchange the nourishment and hence could grow. This plant does not grow naturally and cannot b grown from seeds. A small incision is made in the stem of both plants and they are strapped together.

The two parts of the plant remain genetically separate. Once the cuts have healed and the plants are joined, the leafy top of the potato plant can be cut away and the roots of the tomato can be removed, leaving the leaves of the tomato plant to nourish the roots of the potato plant.

Many companies are now grafting the plant and selling the baby plants making huge profits. One such company is UK horticulture company Thompson and Morgan, which created and commercialized the TomTato. It's "simply" the top of a cherry tomato plant and the bottom of a white potato plant, that have been grafted together at the stem. The grown plant, lasts for one growing season. One plant can reportedly produce up to 500 tomatoes and 2 kg (4.4 lb) of potatoes.

But if the seeds from these hybrids are grow, regular tomato plants will be grown since the hybrid effect only works on the grafted plant.